Tsukayama Yutarō is the rich son of an ex-samurai katana dealer and later support character in the Rurouni Kenshin series. He is the young ward of Isurugi Raijūta in the manga. After becoming acquainted with Myōjin Yahiko and the others at the Kamiya Dōjō, Yutarō begins to doubt his master's plans for the future of kenjutsu. However, Raijūta's negligence and lack of concern for his young adherent costs the young man the use of his right arm and very nearly deprives him of the ability to wield a sword.
Appearance[]
Though apparently of the same height and similar build to Yahiko, Yutarō's neat, smooth light brown hair sets him apart. He has the same cat-shaped eyes as Yahiko, but Yutarō's are depicted as a lighter brown in the manga's color art and as blue in the anime. He wears a simple but high-quality hakama and uwagi outfit, but with a Western twist, including a white collared dress shirt under his uwagi and dress shoes with his ensemble when not wearing zori sandals. When leaving for Germany, he dons a very simple Western outfit consisting of a dress shirt and vest with short pants, high socks and dress shoes.
In the kanzenban re-release of the manga, a character redesign is added by Watsuki to depict Yutarō at the age of fifteen. He wears an outfit similar to his Western suit, but with more details - a more elaborate vest, a fancier dress shirt with ruffled sleeves, plaid short pants and a pageboy hat.
Personality[]
In the manga, he seeks strength and saw Raijuta as the ideal man because Raijuta saved him from an attack. Yutaro's antipathy towards his father seen through a child's eyes. He saw his father as a weak man because his father chose to sell Japanese swords instead of fighting. He sees Yahiko as his rival and acknowledges Kenshin's power. He felt reluctant and embarrassed because he got an education from his own teacher's enemies.
Relationships[]
- Myōjin Yahiko - Initially bitter rivals, the two befriended each soon after, though maintained a friendly rivalry. Yahiko was enraged when Raijūta had betrayed Yutarō and paralyzed his right arm, thus apparently ending his dreams of becoming a great swordsman.
- Tsukayama Yuzaemon - His father. In the manga, he is a swords merchant to which Yutarō held no respect for him. This affection beceomes opposit in the anime, where he is portrayed as a strong samurai deceased prior to the series to which Yutarō admires to be.
- Himura Kenshin - Kenshin saves his life( in the anime) and afterward Yutarō begins to hold great respect towards the Rurouni. In the Manga, after Raijuta taunted Maekawa Dōjō Yutaro came to Kamiya Dojo in order to defeat Yahiko, but he ended training there instead. When he was training in Kamiya Dojo, he witnessed Kenshin's skill when the Shinko-Ryu attacked.
- Kamiya Kaoru - Kaoru becomes his Kenjutsu instructor for a short while after Kenshin saves his life (in anime). In the manga when he challenged Yahiko, he showed a mistake in holding shinai, then Kaoru fixed his grip and he blushed. It's implied that he maybe had a crush on her. Kaoru trained Yutaro and he showed good progress during training in Kamiya Dojo.
- Isurugi Raijūta - His master, who initially gained his trust by apparently saving him from a group of bloodthirsty hooligans, though it is later revealed that they were following his instructions all along. When he and Kenshin prepare to battle one another, Yutarō intervenes and Raijūta betrays him, by performing an Izuna attack that paralyzes his right arm.
- Sanjō Tsubame - He often hits on Tsubame (off-screen), much to Yahiko's aggravation, although he gets nowhere. He was flirting with Tsubame just to spite Yahiko.
Abilities[]
Yutaro was taught little to no techniques by Raijuta. He instead studied the Kamiya Kasshin-ryū along with Yahiko, managing to catch up to him in just ten days. In the manga, Yutaro returns at the end of the series (though offscreen) and has apparently become quite the pervert, flirting with Tsubame daily. In the anime-only season 3, Yutaro returns to Japan to learn again from Kamiya Kasshin-Ryu
History[]
Yutaro first appears as the disciple of Raijuuta. He is the son of a wealthy ex-samurai sword merchant who made a fortune by selling swords to Europeans, but turns to Raijuta for his desire to learn swordsmanship. But in the anime, Yutaro lives alone in his wealthy mansion with his servants with the same desire to learn swordsmanship.
Tokyo Arc[]
He has great admiration for Raijuta in the beginning, but is betrayed when the man targets him with his signature Tobi Izuna attack during a fight with Kenshin. After the battle, the Tobi Izuna's resultant scar, having left a deep and large friction marred cut caused by the kamaitachi effect, severs off the majority use of his muscles and nerves in his right arm, leaving him in his current state unable to practice kenjutsu. As a result, his uncle takes him away to Germany, hoping to find better medical treatment. Before he leaves, however, Yahiko confronts him, scorns his sulking, and tells him that he can overcome his sorrow by working to be better than he imagined Raijuta to be. Yutaro responds that he will never stop practicing swordsmanship and his left arm is still enough to become great.
In the anime, Yutaro's master-student relationship began after Raijuta saved Yutaro from a bunch of bandits after his fortune. Though after joining the Shinko-ryū, his admiration slowly turned to Kenshin when he saved from drowning after rejecting Raijuta's proposal to join them. Still loyal to Raijuta, Yahiko manages to put Yutaro in place over what Raijuta has taught him nothing. Kaoru offered him the doors to her Kamiya Kasshin-ryū, where he quickly learned the basics and leveling himself to become Myojin Yahiko's rival. Though the Kenshin-gumi tend to steer Yutaro away from Raijuta, he eventually learns the truth after hearing the battle between the Shinko-ryū and the Japanese army at his mansion and from one of the surviving bandits to which he confessed the abduction was staged by Raijuta to gain the boy's loyalty and possession of his assets. It all ends up with Raijuta injuring Yutaro to his right arm leaving him emotionally betrayed, and decided to move to his uncle in Germany where his arm can be treated
At the end, Yutaro's nameplate sign is held in the Kamiya Dōjō under tentative leave. In the manga, the epilogue and the Hokkaido sequel shows Yūtarō's return as an assistant instructor along with Yahiko. In Yahiko no Sakabato, it is noted that Yutaro is somewhat of a playboy. In the anime, he comes back and the entire black knights arc starts with Yutaro going back to Germany and quitting kenjustu.
Hokkaido Arc[]
In The Anime Series[]
Black Knights Arc[]
Several months later, Yutaro returns to Japan alongside his mentor and doctor, Doctor Hans, having made a full recovery and regained the use of his right arm. With a cheerful and spirited reunion with the Kenshingumi, they all come to celebrate at the Akabeko on a night filled with fireworks. However, having noticed his mentor hiding a secret the night before, Hans is attacked and grievously wounded by leading members of the Black Knights, an ancient European based Freemason secret society. Curious as to know what caught their attention, Yutaro and the Kenshingumi come to find the answer with the doctor's own journal that he hid away underneath the Kamiya Dojo's foundation.
The results of the journal were astounding; several years ago, Doctor Hans' further study on East Asian medicine lead him to discover documents and artifacts brought from Japan by a Portuguese missionary approximately 300 years ago. These documents entailed the true source of what many would call amrita, the fountain of youth, nectar, the elixir of immortality, and ambrosia as according to myth throughout the world- essentially, the secret to eternal life, and that its origins lay hidden within the depths of mainland Japan. However, as wonderful as this discovery may have been, Hans also warned and informed the group of his pursuers, the Black Knights, and urged Yutaro to find and keep the elixir out of their hands, as the Black Knights desired to use the secret of immortality to fund their plans for global conquest.
Given a cryptic poem and a rock, the group soon figured out that the secrets to immortality dwelled within Lake Suwa. Yutaro, along with the Kenshingumi, made way to Nagano prefecture. During their journey, and their discovery of Lake Ryujin, they were soon accompanied by Misao of the Oniwabanshu, and as they also learned that the Sanada ninja clan was the area's guardians, and as its keepers of the divine elixir, their behavior as of recent grew to be more troubling as of late.
As the group's informant and guide, Yutaro contributed greatly to their journey; as he was knowledged in many subjects of Western curriculum, many of his studies proved to be a great help along the quest. Chemistry proved to be a valuable asset, as he prevented an explosion by Misao within the depths of a gas filled chasm, and by saving the life of a Sanada ninja with medical attention, they were all able to catch up with the Black Knights with the secrets he told.
However, as they reached the ancient sanctuary which the elixir was held, the land which the elixir grew upon was also a natural seep of petroleum, and caught on fire during First Lieutenant Melderz's and Kenshin's battle. As the field of the elixir was ablaze, Yutaro was able to salvage a good specimen before being saved by Sanosuke.
Saving the doctor's life with the elixir, and with their journey to find and keep the elixir safe, the entire journey also was a turning point in young Yutaro's life. Reflecting on times past, and how Yahiko was to save lives with the sword he wielded, Yutaro decided to drop the path of the martial artist, to pursue the path of saving lives with medicine by continuing his studies abroad. But, even after changing his goal in life, Kaoru and Yahiko, even after the latter's reaction, still considered him as a disciple and friend, and Yutaro vowed to be a part of the Kamiya Kasshin-ryu school as a doctor, all in the spirit of Katsujinken - the sword that gives life.
Trivia[]
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